Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Clinicals and Skipping Module 7 and 8

Clinical Sheets

My cohort has been the first cohort fast-tracking the program. We are skipping module 7 and 8 as when we signed up, we had an agreement to be done in 6 months. My friends who are in different cohorts have asked Donna, Patti and Emily if they could fast track it and they all said NO!

Having said that, here are the clinical sheets to start thinking about mentors and your clinical activities...

When I am done with the program I will be reviewing this program as a whole. Let's just say that I have finished my clinical activities 10 days ago and I haven't been contacted for any formal evaluation or anything regarding my videos in the last month and a half...

Here are the sheets:

• Mentor Handbook

• Assignment Matrix

• TLF Mentor Observation Form

• TLF Plans and Goals

By the way, this may be very similar to the 9 month program but I know the Assignment Matrix was tweaked for our cohort. 

Teach Now (Teaching Certification): Reflection on Teacher Evaluation

Module 6 Unit 4 Activity 3

This was a non-graded one...

Reflection on Teacher Evaluation

Evaluations really help people learn where they may be at a certain task or a job. Receiving feedback based on their performance can really help a teacher improve and having constructive criticism can guide the educator in their daily tasks. Teaching is sometimes difficult to evaluate as it is subjective as well as the students may learn better with certain types of personality, styles, or a numerous other factors that involve their teacher. Because of this, it is very difficult to have a one size fits all kind of criteria for the teachers.

When I did my observation/evaluation class in our masters, it really opened my eyes to what an observation is an how a successful evaluation will take place. Before I took that course I really always had a negative view of classroom observations, as if the teacher had done something wrong. I never thought it was the teacher who would initiate this to better her/himself professionally, and grow as an educator.

Reading the links that were recommended by the Teach Now site were useful but they failed to mention the pre-conference which is one of the biggest parts of the observation/evaluation process. There are some observations that are unannounced but there still needs to be a clear goal or purpose as it will be better for the evaluator to know what kind of evaluation instrument would be beneficial and the specific criteria they are going to observe.

I feel the most comfortable being evaluated by my peers or colleagues as those are the people who I usually learn the most from. The pre-conference needs to be established and words need to be carefully evaluated but in the real world it might be a lot harder because different people have different assumptions of words, and degrees to measure words. Recommendations should remain neutral as it needs to be constructive and the observer should refrain from giving their personal opinions when evaluating.

Recording my own classes could also be a great way to self-evaluate as long as I am being constructive, factual and as objective as I can be. Self-evaluation gives educators room to reflect on their own practice and find out if what they teach needs improvement or if it is successful.

Student evaluations or observations from head teachers are equally as crucial. Having surveys and working with students to shape the lessons and classes could be very effective. Having anonymous ways for students to truly voice how they feel they learn best could be a great way for teachers to understand what works or doesn’t work with the students. Also having head teachers observe classes can help give a better perspective by having announced and unannounced observations for more accurate sampling of the teacher’s lesson.

My mentor will hopefully be able to give me feedback about my procedures, management skills and my own feedback to the students. I also would like to get pointers and new ideas on different procedures or transition techniques. I am always willing to learn and I will be open to any constructive criticism or feedback that my mentor has for me. 

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Voice Thread on Use of Student Learning for Teacher Evaluation

Module 6 Unit 4 Activity 2

Here is our teacher evaluation form: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/162_4G6vYCmHeihNtP65ZvXskrLAJdo-6eA1n2CHGdi8/edit

Here is our Voicethread: 

http://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/6218068/31979862/33503800

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Simulated Parent Teacher Conference

Module 6 Unit 4 Activity 1

Here is my Flipsnack:

This is the only one I didn't get an "Outstanding" in so far, just because I didn't include the student's name as it was supposed to be a scenario. So instead of student, one should state Billy or whatnot. Anyhows, I complained that it was still a scenario, and they changed my grade. Seriously it came down to a name...and THAT is the quality of the teachers in this program. Just putting it out there just in case :)

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Tackling the Grading Dilemma

Module 6 Unit 3 Activity 4

Tackling the Grading Dilemma

Grading can sometimes be very time-consuming. Some teachers have to do a lot more grading than others and sometimes the workload can be overwhelming. There are ways to make grading a bit easier for the teacher.

Peer Assessment:

It is surprising to think that students are actually way harsher in grading themselves or each other than the teacher. When students assess each others work it allows them to see the work that they had to do in a different perspective. It will not only help their fellow classmates to improve their own work, but they may think critically about their own work as well and clearly see what the teacher is looking for. I have done this many times and it is very surprising to see that the grades they give each other or themselves are very similar to the grades that I would have given them. For peer assessment to be successful, the teacher needs to have a clear rubric or standards that the students have to follow.

One in Four Rule:

When a teacher has over thirty students per class and perhaps even five to seven classes per day, grading all of the homework, tests, and quizzes could become a hard task to complete. Grading a random sample of the students’ work that represents their thoughts and activities could really help cut the load but still be very effective in helping the student and giving them feedback and certain grades. It is very important that the sample should be random and not chosen to favor a certain thought, answer or group of students. If done successfully, it can be very effective in saving time for the teacher, helping the students, and still get the students to practice. Personally, I like this idea but I also like to skim through everything my students write as occasionally there will be pieces of information that the student wanted the teacher to read, or needed help in.

Stamping Method:

I think I would be okay with the stamping method if my students were younger such as kindergartners or lower elementary grade level. Overall, I am not a stamp advocate as I think it is more meaningful for the students to write an extra comment to give personal feedback. Having said that, if they are stamps just to let the students know that they are on the right track or need to develop their essays or answers a bit more, then I would think it could be a faster way to manage lots of assignments provided that the students know that they have to take those papers home and re-do, or improve upon their own papers.

Student Journals:

Student journals or portfolios could be very beneficial. Having the students compile portfolios is a great way to collect students’ work and see how much they have grown and learned over time. It keeps their work in one place, in order, and records their work throughout the year. If the educator checks that the work is submitted in on time, grading the assignments should not be very overwhelming. This method also lets the teacher grade in their own time and the students don’t have to wonder when they will get their graded assignments back from the teacher. If I eventually teach English, I would love to have my students blog everything as it can be looked as an online portfolio and if they continue this throughout the years, they can look back and see how much they have learned over the years.

I have been doing this with some of my students already and it has been very successful. Also it can be intertwined with peer assessments as their fellow classmates can leave comments on their page.

I am usually very organized with my time and like to give myself deadlines. I also make sure that different classes have different papers or assignments due at different times so that I am not overwhelmed with all the work at once. In order for me to give timely feedback on my student assignments I will have to work efficiently instead of in a way that is just time consuming but gives the same results to my students. I would also like to be able to communicate with them letting them know when their work will be returned. I want to start implementing self assessment and peer assessment a lot more regularly and the four in one method would be implemented if I worked in a school where I had a lot more students than I do now or if I were to have to assign a heavier workload.

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Observe, Analyaze and Plan for Re-teaching

Module 6 Unit 3 Activity 3

Subject: English (ELL)

Grade: 8th Grade

Teacher: Simon Elias

School: Saint James College

Classroom: 26 students, all Korean and the ratio of the students were 14 girls to 12 boys.

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify and order food in a variety of restaurant settings.

Lesson Structure:

• Recap of previous lessons
• Introduction of the lesson objectives
• Mini-Lesson on restaurant word definitions and examples
• Group Activity
• Review

Teaching Strategies:

Simon starts with an oral review to keep students’ previous lessons fresh in their mind and writes bullet points on the board with the chapter’s lessons. For example he will say that things like collecting stamps and playing the piano are examples of, and the students will respond by saying “hobbies”. Then he will write hobbies on the board. He covers everything they have learned from the beginning of the semester until today’s topic.

Afterwards, Simon will introduce the objectives for the day’s lesson and then let the students know the order of the day’s lesson. He starts the lesson with an oral probe to see how much the students know about the different restaurant settings and kinds of foods such as appetizers, main dishes, and desserts,etc.

Then he starts the mini-lesson where he explains the vocabulary and the different sentences used when ordering at a restaurant. The students are put into group of five and one group of six and the lesson becomes authentic learning. One person is the waiter in each group and Simon has brought real menus from five different types of restaurants. Each group rotates tables after they have ordered from the waiter and each time another student has a turn to become the waiter. This was a very interactive activity and the students really responded to this lesson.

It was a great way to engage students and helps kinesthetic learners and he gets to check each table and help all of the students at one point. The teacher uses the lights to get the students attention at the end of the activity and he uses high and low order questions to review and check for understanding at the end of the lesson.

Formative Assessment:

Simon quizzed the students in the review session at the beginning of the class by asking questions to identify the different lessons that were learned previously. He used think alouds and targeted students asking them higher or lower order questions depending on their English level.

After the mini-lesson the got the students to put their heads down and observed the thumbs up, middle or down, to check for understanding.

During the class activity, Simon observed each group listening and becoming the “second waiter” challenging the students with question variations and also checking for understanding by asking students particular questions about their food when they were ordering. He would ask more challenging questions to those students who were higher level and helped.

When the activity was done, he reviewed the activity and used a metacognitive formative assessment so that the students could think about the lesson in an authentic manner. He ask the students how they could apply what they have learned, why it was important, and answered any questions or curiosities that the students had.

Finally he ended with assigning the students homework from their book which they had to bring for the next class. This homework will check if the students understood the vocabulary and the different sentences used in restaurant settings.

The students were at one point getting very loud and some of the students especially higher level students were doing most of the talking in the groups so Simon would come around and direct questions to the students who were speaking less. Also I noticed one student raised their hand at the other side of the classroom, but since he was going from group to group in order by the time he got to the third group, the student had already either found the answer, or decided not to ask the teacher.

Recommendations:

Simon is a very experienced teacher and I always learn so much from him, either watching him or getting advice or ideas from his lesson. In one of this week’s particular class, because Simon was going from group to group in a left or right order in the classroom, he failed to answer perhaps a very important question for his student. Maybe having a structure to be able to reach all his students was great, but also being flexible is important as by the time he got there her question was unanswered or perhaps she felt as she was being ignored. He could quickly go over help the student and then go back to the order of the tables that he was following. Overall the lesson and the activity went very well and the students were genuinely engaged in the activity. Making it truly authentic really helped make the lesson not just a memorization setting, but at actual experience that the students will remember. 

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Create a Rubric for a Performance Assessment

Module 6 Unit 3 Activity 2

Course: English

Grade Level: Grade 7-12, ELL (intermediate - high level)

 

Standard being addressed: Florida Standard Code: LA.1.1.7.6

Demonstrate command of arranging events in sequence.

Measurable performance objective: Students will be able to break down an explanation in order and arrange sentences in order and in a cohesive way.

Lesson Objective:

• Students will be able to use sequence words demonstrated in a “How-To” or “Life-Hack” video.
• Students will be able to organize and deliver an explanation in a clear and organized manner.

How can we create engaging projects for our students?

As educators, first we need to make sure that we have clear objectives for our students. The teacher should make sure that the project they are given lets the students have opportunities to think critically, collaborate, and communicate with others, but also have a clear learning goal at the end.

Teachers need to think about what tools (either digital or not) will help and facilitate the students’ learning,  whilst also thinking of ways to motivate and engage students to have a thirst for knowledge, and to further research, share, and perhaps even teach each other new information.

The Project

The project that I have designed is for my ESL students previously (with Ian), however, it could be used in any middle school English classroom when studying storytelling, or organization of stories. I explain the concept of life hacks to them and then they have to do some research on the Internet to find some fun examples. I could even give a live demonstration of some simple fun life hacks such as these from CrazyRussianHacker. However, the main objective of this lesson is actually not about the life hack itself, but understanding how to order and explain a step-by-step process (using sequencing adverbs).  

Here is the lesson plan and rubric designed for this lesson:

• Life Hacks/How Tos description & Rubric
• Life Hacks/How Tos student handouts

In my example, I’ve chosen to present our life hack as a video (How to Properly Tie Your Shoes).

Other extensions of this project could be to get students to create and share a categorized list of life hacks/how tos using Diigo/LiveBinders, or creating a Facebook page/group where the students could go to collectively make suggestions and share ideas. Students could tweet their findings and share clever life hacks with each other.

Found below are the explanations and worksheets for the project:

____________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Plan: Life Hacks / How Tos (DOWNLOAD HERE)

FOR THE TEACHER:

Lesson Description:

• LEVEL: ESL Intermediate/ advanced middle school - adults
• AIM: Students can show how to do a mundane task better, faster, or in a new way. They can also show fellow students how to cut time on any task by organizing each task, step by step. This will help them use the English language to explain how to do something in an organized way.

Materials:

• A 2 minute movie (DOWNLOAD HERE)
• Movie project handouts (DOWNLOAD HERE)                           

Explanation:

1. The teacher will give out the handouts and go through each step explaining the movie project.

2. The teacher should make sure the students know the time limit and penalties on the length of the movie. Also they should express that organization is key, and a step by step explanation (using sequencing adverbs) is needed.

3. The teacher should then show the example of a life hack movie clip.

Scoring Rubric:

	4 Above Standards	3 Meets Standards	2 Approaching Standards	1 Below Standards
Length	Video was 2 minutes long. (3 seconds under or over is acceptable.)	Video was 2 seconds under or over specified time.	Video was 4 seconds under or over specified time.	Video was 6 seconds under or over specified time.
Organization And Steps	Content uses headings and is well organized with detailed step by step instructions using sequencing adverbs.	Content uses headings and is well organized with minor details or sequencing adverbs missing.	Content uses headings but the overall organization is flawed and sequencing adverbs are missing.	There was no clear organizational structure or order in the instructions with lots of missing details.
Workload	The workload is divided and shared equally by all team members.	The workload is divided and shared fairly by all team members, though workloads may vary from person to person.	The workload was divided, but one person in is viewed as not doing his/her fair share.	The workload was not divided OR the each member was not viewed as doing their fair share of their work.
Sound	Clear sound and is easily understood by all members of the audience at all times.	Clear sound and understood by all members of the audience most of the times.	Clear sound but the explanations are mumbled.	Sound is very low or distorted. Audience often has a trouble listening.
Videography and Angles	Video did not rock/ shake and the focus was excellent with the use of 3 different camera angles.	Video did not rock/ shake and the focus was good for the majority of the video with the use of 3 different camera angles.	Video had a little rocking/ shaking but the focus was good and the use of 2 different camera angles.	Problems with rocking/ shaking and focus. Used only  camera angle.

Reflection/ Future Goals:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR THE STUDENT:

(DOWNLOAD HERE)

TOPIC:

How-to videos on life hacks:

• You can show something that the everyday person doesn’t already know.
• You can show how to do a mundane task better, faster, or in a new way.
• You can also show fellow students how to cut time on any task.

All movies have to be 2 minutes long (3 seconds over or under is acceptable). Make sure your movies shoe a step by step explanation in an organized way.

PROCESS:

STEP 1: Get into groups of 3 students.

STEP 2:  You will choose your topic and start working on a script. Each member of your group has to have a significant part in the movie.

STEP 3: Bring your script to class/the English café, and get it checked and revised by a teacher.

STEP 4: Make the corrections to your script and then plan your movie on storyboards (See the reverse side of this paper).

STEP 5: Bring the storyboards to class and get your teacher to check them and make any necessary revisions.

STEP 6: Start filming the scenes of your movie.

STEP 7: Put all the scenes together in an editing program (such as Windows Movie Maker). Edit your movie.

• Give your movie a title (max 5 secs)
• Trim and cut the scenes as necessary
• Add smooth transitions
• Add any voiceovers and music
• Don’t forget the credits at the end (max 5 secs)

*Don’t forget to use sequence adverbs!!!

OTHER NOTES:

• Make sure you give your best effort. Try to make any costumes you use as realistic as possible!
• Don’t be a robot!! Try to put some emphasis and intonation in your speech; it’ll make your performance more believable!
• Try to have fun! Your audience will appreciate it more. Humor is definitely encouraged!!

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